The big-screen adaptation of Memoirs of the Geisha has been passed through many hands over the years and was once nearly a Steven Spielberg movie. However, it is Rob Marshall (Chicago) who got final dibs on the project and the first look at it has been sneaked online in the form of the japanese teaser trailer.

Starring Zhang Ziyi, Ken Watanabe and Michelle Yeoh, it tells the tale of Nitta Sayuri, a yong girl sold to a japanese Geisha house in 1929. After suffering under the cruelty of the house's head Geisha. She is eventually rescued by the kindly Mameha, who takes her under her wing and trains her to become one of the most famous Geisha in Japan. But bitter rivalry and the looming threat of World War II threaten to destroy this Japanese way of life forever.

I don't know how this project might've turned out in Spielberg's hands but it looks like Marshall has pulled out all the stops to make a damn fine looking movie.

→ CLICK TO WATCH THE TRAILER ←

Memoirs of a Geisha is released 9 December.